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Massachusetts Firm Foundation

KEY FACTS: THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE MASSACHUSETTS ECONOMY

The insurance industry in Massachusetts has a significant impact on the state’s economy that extends well beyond its responsibilities to collect premiums and settle claims. It employs licensed professionals, pays taxes, owns municipal bonds and serves people in their times of greatest need.

EMPLOYMENT

U.S. Department of Commerce data show the insurance industry provided 79,380 jobs in Massachusetts in 2013. The Massachusetts insurance industry accounted for about $7.7 billion in compensation in 2013.

GROSS STATE PRODUCT

The insurance industry contributed $13.7 billion to the Massachusetts gross state product (GSP) in 2012, accounting for 3.16 percent of the state GSP.

TAXES

All insurance companies pay a state tax based on their premiums. Other payments are made to states for licenses and fees, income and property taxes, sales and use taxes, unemployment compensation taxes and franchise taxes. Premium taxes paid by insurance companies in Massachusetts totaled $403.8 million in 2013.

The surplus lines market, a group of highly specialized insurers exists to provide coverage that is not available through licensed insurers in the standard insurance market. For the many thousands of businesses that rely on some level of surplus line protection to keep their doors open, surplus lines is an important segment of the market. The Massachusetts surplus lines market accounted for $696.4 million in gross premiums written in 2013, according to a survey by Business Insurance.

CLAIMS PAYMENTS

Insurance company claims payments help ensure the economic security of individuals and businesses and help sustain a number of related industries. In 2013 these payments in Massachusetts as measured by direct property/casualty incurred losses, were $6.1 billion. Life insurance claims and benefits payouts in Massachusetts totaled $16.5 billion in 2013. On a direct basis before reinsurance. Includes life insurance, death benefits, matured endowments, annuity benefits and other life insurance benefits. Does not include accident and health.

CATASTROPHES

The insurance industry plays a vital role in helping individuals and businesses prepare for and recover from the potentially devastating effects of a disaster such as a catastrophic hurricane or storm or wildfire. Massachusetts was one of 14 states affected by August 2011’s Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Ike in 2008. Irene impacted 14 states, causing a total of $4.3 billion in insured property damage, according to ISO, not including flood losses covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). A study by AIR Worldwide put the insured value of coastal areas in Massachusetts at $849.6 billion in 2012, accounting for 54 percent of the state’s total insured property exposure. The state is also prone to wildfires.

LEADING WRITERS

LEADING WRITERS OF COMMERCIAL INSURANCE IN MASSACHUSETTS BY DIRECT PREMIUMS WRITTEN, 2013 (1)